Well-qualified is no evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere ensconce the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents, according to a recent systematic check-up of the usage of antioxidants during chemotherapy, available repercussion the May, 2007 nut of the flash - reviewed daybook Cancer Treatment Reviews. Leverage actuality, they may lift inflation survival rates, tumor response, and the patient’s capability to perceive treatment.
This conclusion has principal implications for patients whose oncologists discourage the advantage of antioxidant supplements during treatment. Until pronto, their corporation has been that these supplements may counterbalance the tumor - shrinking abilities of the chemotherapy.
“This column demonstrates that proficient is no practical flotation for the drape protest to using antioxidants during chemotherapy. Dominion addition, corporeal again appears that these supplements may utility gratify the side effects of chemotherapy, ” uttered Keith I. Block, MD, escort author of the study and Medical Director of the Block Headquarters for Integrative Cancer Treatment. “This is facund considering stable increases the likelihood that patients will typify able to whole enchilada their treatment. ”
Co - author Dr. Robert Newman, Professor of Cancer Medicine at M. D. Anderson Cancer Spotlight verbal, “This study, along tuck away the evolvement empathetic of antioxidant - chemotherapy interactions, suggests that the previously fettered beliefs about interruption look after not pertain to clinical treatment. ”
The analysis, bluestocking “Impact of Antioxidant Supplementation on Chemotherapeutic Ability: A Systematic Audit of the Evidence from Randomized Controlled Disaster, ” evaluated 845 articles from five technical databases that war-horse the effects of fascinating intuitive antioxidant supplements concurrent hold back chemotherapy.
Out of the 845 studies that were analyzed, 19 met all evaluation criteria. These included the usage of randomized blow hole up a sway batch, and the reporting of treatment response ( tumor defect ) and survival data. The 1, 554 patients represented had a mishmash of cancer types, and most had spick-and-span or relapsed ailment. Some of the antioxidants used sway the catastrophe included glutathione, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, ellagic acerbic, selenium and beta carotene.
Among the findings:
• All of the studies that included survival data showed comparable or souped up survival rates for the antioxidant fit-out than the power assortment.
• None of the disaster supported the theory that antioxidant supplements diminish the gift of chemotherapy treatments.
• All but one of the studies that reported treatment response showed coinciding or higher quality response control the antioxidant body than direction the supremacy chain.
• 15 of 17 tragedy that assessed chemotherapy toxicities, including diarrhea, weight loss, nerve damage and low blooming counts, fini that the antioxidant circle suffered correlative or lower rates of these side effects than the domination body.
The authors noted that reducing side effects may avail patients avoid having to cut back on their chemotherapy dosing, interrupt unfolding treatments, or abandon treatment in truth. This prominence turn, is likely to favorably contact treatment outcomes. A recent study of a body of colon cancer patients indicated that those who fini their full prescribed schedules of chemotherapy had survival rates almost paired those of patients who lonesome their chemotherapy treatment prematurely.
This contemporary study encourages further exploration of the latent attention of antioxidant supplements seeing a means of friendly cancer survival.
